Recently, an important question surfaced in my Human Design Map & Portal discussions, and my answer sparked a wave of resonance and insight that I believe could benefit the entire Human Design community. The question centered around Human Design Gate 6 in the Incarnation Cross, the Undefined Solar Plexus, and the powerful practice of taking radical responsibility for one’s emotions.
Gate 6, as you may know, embodies the archetype of the peacemaker and serves as a potent catalyst for conflict resolution — a process that relies on each person ‘owning’ their emotions.
But here’s the catch: in traditional Human Design teachings, those with an undefined solar plexus are often labeled as ‘non-emotional.’
So, how does someone take radical responsibility for their emotions if they’re considered ‘non-emotional’? Here is a slightly edited version of my answer. If I get enough feedback that this content was useful, I will create an even more clear, deeper version as I normally do with my formal content.
If you’re a MAP customer, you can view the full discussion, my original answer, and join the conversation within the ‘Decoding Resonance’ lesson of the MAP Method for Deconditioning Course in the portal.
Introduction: Clarifying “Non-Emotional” in Human Design
So, first, I want to say that the language in traditional human design can be very convoluted and confusing. And this idea that you are “non-emotional” because you have an open or undefined solar plexus is one of the many ways that misconceptions happen. So, let me clear that up, first.
The Truth About Being “Non-Emotional”
Being non-emotional does not mean that you do not personally experience or have emotion. All humans experience emotion. In fact, if you truly never experienced emotion, a psychologist would likely diagnose you as a sociopath.
Emotion Exists Throughout the Chart
Emotion – which is different than the emotional wave – is simply energy in motion and is actually created all over the chart.
For example, the head center produces the emotions of inspiration (61), doubt (63), and confusion (64). The ajna, the spleen, and the solar plexus all create the emotions of fear.
Another place you can see this in the chart is through the signature themes. An unrecognized and uninvited projector is going to experience the emotion of bitterness, no matter their solar plexus definition.
To be human is synonymous with experiencing emotions. And that has nothing to do with how your chart is or is not defined. Every person on the planet “has” the whole chart. Because, remember, the human design chart is just a synthesis of the human archetype.
The Undefined Solar Plexus: Gaining Wisdom Through Fluidity
When you are undefined, it does not mean you don’t have or experience that energy. It means you will experience (and experiment) with that energy in a variety of ways. You will try working with the energy this way or that way. And through that experience of inconsistency, you develop wisdom. And that wisdom helps you apply that energy in ways that are in alignment for you and let it go when it is not in alignment for you.
What It Really Means to Be Non-Emotional
With an undefined solar plexus, developing emotional wisdom is happening in your experience. You are gathering wisdom about how to apply emotional energy when it’s the best energy for the job. And when to let it go when it isn’t. Be sure to read my article called the toolbox, van, and shed metaphor where I go into that in more detail and explain it in a way that has been very helpful for others.
That said, being non-emotional means two things:
- You have an undefined solar plexus and the emotional wave is not an important part of your decision making.
- The solar plexus being an awareness center, you do not create self-awareness through the lens of how you feel about things. Another way to say that is that you don’t relate to yourself and others through the lens of feelings and emotion.
But since emotion is created from the way we interpret the world around us, you will feel some kind of way about all manner of things.
Understanding Amplification and Conditioning
Before I get into the responsibility piece, it is also important to talk about what happens when we are amplifying others energy through our openness.
When we are undefined, that is also a place where we can unconsciously take on the energy of others and amplify it (aka play it out even bigger than the person whom it belongs to). This creates a ton of problems and we become conditioned when we believe that the other person’s energy belongs to us.
Let’s say that you are making a big decision AND you are currently unaware that the emotional wave you are riding belongs to someone else. You are so unaware that you think you need to consider these emotions in the decision making process. That is conditioning. You’ve taken on someone else’s energy and are acting it out in a way that is likely even bigger than they themselves are.
The Power of Deconditioning
Deconditioning solves that. It helps us to create the kind of discernment and such a strong connection to our authentic inner wisdom and expression that we can stop moving through the world based on others people’s energy – we can begin to move through the world with authenticity and devotion to our true purpose (conscious sun).
And here is the thing about our undefined places — when we have developed that discernment and connection to our authentic selves, we stop amplifying the energy of others. We start to recognize what belongs to us and what doesn’t. We can notice an energy without taking it on, absorbing it, and living unconsciously from it. We become wiser. We start to apply the energy that is ours, navigate our toolbox, van, and shed with intention and focus.
The tools I teach in the MAP Method will help you to develop those exact skills, using your human design as clues.
Taking Responsibility for Your Emotions
So, this is where we circle to the question about responsibility.
First, it is important to see that you currently believe that your emotional experience is out of your control. That is not true.
And I really want you to hang with me here. Because this can be hard to swallow at first. We live in a culture that teaches us that other people, situations, and the world is to blame for our feelings and emotions.
But living that way leaves you completely powerless. When outside situations are the cause of our inner state, we have zero power. Exactly zero. Why? Because we cannot change other people or the world. We can only change ourselves.
Regaining Personal Power Through Responsibility
Taking responsibility for our emotions gives us our power back. If we look at this through the lens of the Hindu Chakra system, the solar plexus is the house of personal power. And not allowing our inner world to be controlled by the outer world is enlightenment.
So, whether you are unconsciously amplifying the energy of those around you or you are authentically feeling some kind of way about something, you are the one who is responsible for changing your reality.
No one else can do that for you. And if you leave it up to the outside world, you have given away every ounce of your power. In this case, being responsible is the ability to respond to what is true for you in any given moment without going into a space of blame. Blame is about the past and leaves you powerless. Being responsible is about the present moment and moving forward with all of your personal power on board.
Processing and Applying Your Emotions
If the feeling is authentic to you, it is because of how you are interpreting any given situation and the emotion is the messenger telling you how to resolve it. I teach you all of this inside the MAP Method.
But, as an example in the meantime…
If you feel angry, it is because your boundaries need attention. Boundaries resolve the anger and your boundaries are your responsibility. And doing the work in the MAP Method, you will learn exactly where to find the energy to set those boundaries, even when other people don’t like it or when it feels like you don’t have the power.
But through you taking responsibility and finding the power within yourself, that is where the magic of deconditioning unfolds. It takes you straight into the heart and you will not be the same after that.
If the case is that you are unconsciously taking on the energy of others and amplifying it, it is on you to reconcile that for yourself by developing the skills of energetic discernment and boundaries. If you are authentically feeling some kind of way about something, it is on you to reconcile the wisdom of that emotion and apply it in your life. If you have a jacked-up nervous system because of trauma, it is on you to heal that trauma. No one else can do any of that for you.
Owning Your Emotions in Conflict Resolution (Gate 6)
So, in the case of gate six, what we are talking about here is owning what is yours inside of conflict. If you are blaming someone else for how you feel — and therefore giving them ALL of the power — there will be conflict. You cannot come to true peace and resolution by making someone else responsible for your feelings. And vice versa, you also cannot resolve conflict and create inner peace if you are believing that you are the cause of and responsible for the feelings of others. Resolution and peace come through each person owning what is theirs to own and finding the win-win.
In conclusion, I hope that you find this helpful as you learn to take responsibility for your emotions, even with an undefined solar plexus.